First-ever PhD on non-religious pastoral care awarded to Dr Lindsay de Wal

A pioneer in the field of humanist pastoral support has been awarded the first ever UK  PhD in the subject. Dr Lindsay de Wal has completed her thesis at Middlesex University entitled The lived experience of non-religious healthcare chaplains entering faith-based healthcare chaplaincy teams.

Humanists UK welcomes this as a significant step toward a more inclusive chaplaincy and pastoral care profession. Dr de Wal’s research, which used a mixed-methods approach, examines the challenges and opportunities for non-religious practitioners in the UK.

The study found that non-religious practitioners often encounter significant barriers to entry, including societal and recruitment challenges. As recently as 2023, two-thirds of roles were advertised as restricted to just religious people, just Christians, or just Anglicans, even though this was frequently unlawful – though by earlier this year this had dropped to around one-quarter. Further, existing teams are formed with this legacy, and the research revealed the resulting imbalance in posts held, with non-religious practitioners frequently holding volunteer positions, while their religious colleagues are more likely to be in paid and leadership roles.

However, the findings also offer a positive outlook, with a majority of practitioners, regardless of religion or belief, expressing a willingness to embrace new, inclusive models of care. De Wal advocates for greater understanding, collaboration, and equitable opportunities to ensure that the spiritual and emotional needs of all patients, regardless of belief, are met.

This latest achievement builds on Dr de Wal’s extensive career. She has just stepped down as the Head of Chaplaincy at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. When she was appointed, this was the most senior role a humanist had ever taken in a chaplaincy and pastoral care team. Prior to that, she headed up Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust’s team, and in that role was the first humanist to be appointed to lead any such NHS team.

She is also manager of the Non-Religious Pastoral Support Network (NRPSN), an arms-length body of Humanists UK that is the accrediting body for humanist and non-religious pastoral carers in the UK. She is also faculty member of the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling, where she supports their postgraduate programme Pastoral Care: Existential and Humanist Practice.

Humanists UK and the NRPSN prefer to use the term ‘pastoral care’ for the professions covering existential, spiritual, and religious care. This is because many non-religious people think that ‘chaplaincy’ is an exclusionary term, denoting care by and for Christians. However, the sector still predominantly uses this term, hence its inclusion here and in Dr de Wal’s work.

Clare Elcombe Webber, Director of Humanist Care at Humanists UK, commented on the significance of the research:

‘Lindsay’s work provides crucial evidence for what we’ve seen on the ground for years. It’s not enough to simply have non-religious pastoral carers in hospitals; they must be fully integrated and given equal opportunities to lead and serve. This thesis will be a powerful tool in our ongoing campaign to make sure that everyone, whether religious or non-religious, has access to the support they need when they are at their most vulnerable.’